Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Startup 136

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2017

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. The classic book, “ Hunting in a Farmer's World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. Dini makes the case that entrepreneurs are hunters, while the rest of us (large majority) are farmers.

Entrepreneur 54

Entrepreneur News Slides Startup 54

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for a disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to InvoiceTracker. Many entrepreneurs forget that the growth phase may be your tightest squeeze on cash. Introduce new products and enhancements every month.

Startup 134

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Metrics 134

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2022

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs seem to prefer to fail their way to the top, rather than do some research and learn from the successes and mistakes of others. In general I try to focus on the positives and tell entrepreneurs what works, but sometimes it’s important to reiterate the common things that simply don’t work.

Startup 100

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Customer 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. The classic book, “ Hunting in a Farmer's World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. Dini makes the case that entrepreneurs are hunters, while the rest of us (large majority) are farmers.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur News Slides Startup 95

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs seem to prefer to fail their way to the top, rather than do some research and learn from the successes and mistakes of others. In general I try to focus on the positives and tell entrepreneurs what works, but sometimes it’s important to reiterate the common things that simply don’t work.

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Technical Review Startup Satisfaction 109

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Tips 104

Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2018

According to the 2017 Kauffman Startup Activity Index , the share of new entrepreneurs who started businesses to pursue opportunity rather than from necessity reached 86 percent, more than 12 percentage points higher than in 2009 at the height of the Great Recession. Social media is a boon for entrepreneurs and startups.

Entrepreneur 66

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Satisfaction 66

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2018

Editor's note: All this week, and into the start of next year, we'll be featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. Over the last four years, I watched numerous entrepreneurs raise equity. What was the biggest news for your company in 2018?

Southern California 133

Southern California SoCal Culver City Venture Capital 133

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 24, 2012

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. As a startup, you as the entrepreneur are the brand, the brand builder, and the major lead generator.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Media Customer Custom 126

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2010

In the book, and in his popular lecture series, he says you can do it yourself, and outlines five steps to success, which I have adapted a bit for startups as follows: Analyze existing media, social media, and your demographics. Get to know the five W’s of these and others – who, what, where, when, and why. Pick your fit.

Social Media 95

Social Media Media Startup Blogging 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2022

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. As a startup, you as the entrepreneur are the brand, the brand builder, and the major lead generator.

Marketing 113

Marketing Entrepreneur Customer Custom 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Startup 128

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 128

InfoChachkie

MAY 5, 2016

Given TimeHop’s failed experiment, I was especially intrigued when I learned that a team of a dozen remote entrepreneurs hack the typical corporate structure and creates a company that generated nearly $100 million in revenue. I asked TaxJar’s Co-Founder and CEO, Mark Faggiano to list five reasons his decentralized venture has flourished.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Santa Barbara Email Outsource Development 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2020

Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for that disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to Gallup. Many entrepreneurs forget that the growth phase may be your tightest squeeze on cash. Introduce new products and enhancements every month.

Search Engine Optimization 131

Search Engine Optimization Startup Social Media Metrics 131

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2020

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs seem to prefer to fail their way to the top, rather than do some research and learn from the successes and mistakes of others. In general I try to focus on the positives and tell entrepreneurs what works, but sometimes it’s important to reiterate the common things that simply don’t work.

Startup 125

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Customer 125

socalTECH

DECEMBER 28, 2010

We asked the same five questions of a variety of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, and others, to hear what they're thinking about, and are sharing it here over the next two weeks. What was the biggest news for you/your firm this year? What was the biggest news for you/your firm this year?

Southern California 178

Southern California High Tech Miramar News 178

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2010

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. When questioned, founders usually mention word-of-mouth, viral marketing, and a top quality product. Generate leads for your product.

Marketing 94

Marketing Startup Social Media SEM 94

socalTECH

OCTOBER 14, 2019

How do you create a tool to help address unconscious bias in the workplaceand why would you create a new startup in that area? Michele Ruiz: In the last year and a half, we have been putting together our product and content. She's actually won five Emmy's, and knows how to produce content. Where is the company now?

Content 150

Content Training Education Outsource Development 150

socalTECH

DECEMBER 22, 2010

We asked the same five questions of a variety of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, and others, to hear what they're thinking about, and are sharing it here over the next two weeks. What was the biggest news for you/your firm this year? Yesterday, we heard from Scott Painter of TrueCar.

GRP Partners 170

GRP Partners Southern California Technical Review High Tech 170

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2010

We asked the same five questions of a variety of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, and others, to hear what they're thinking about, and are sharing it here over the next two weeks. What was the biggest news for you/your firm this year? As an investor and an entrepreneur you have to pick a path and go. Stay tuned.

Venture Capital 234

Venture Capital Capital Rustic Canyon Southern California 234

InfoChachkie

APRIL 25, 2011

Although many are entertaining, most fail to provide entrepreneurs with a sufficient return on their time investment. If you are a leader at a startup and you are reading a business book, you are not closing customers, raising capital, improving your product, or spending time with your loved ones. Deliver Bad News Early.

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Blogging Class Entrepreneur 279

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2019

Image via Wikipedia As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. As a startup, you as the entrepreneur are the brand, the brand builder, and the major lead generator.

Entrepreneur 87

Entrepreneur Customer Custom Guide 87

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 29, 2018

Yet, we investors often ask about patent protection before the product or idea is even tested in the market. Here’s another blockbusting piece of news. Patents have allowed companies to spend up to five percent of their gross revenue on research and development. A great idea often never succeeds in the marketplace.

Patents 168

Patents Startup Ideas Research 168

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. Like any sale you first need to plan your “prospects” and qualify whether or not they’d be a good fit for your product?—?an

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Tech.Co

JANUARY 15, 2018

MVF was founded in the UK by five friends in 2009, and has driven incredibly fast growth over the past 9 years. When Eric departed to pursue other things, a new partner stepped in with years of experience building and running community and product teams at AOL. Today, I’m excited to announce that Tech.Co

Media 175

Media News Organization Content 175

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2017

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. As a startup, you as the entrepreneur are the brand, the brand builder, and the major lead generator.

Company 97

Company Companies Entrepreneur Customer 97

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

We've used that funding to product our app, which is based on React Native, which allows us to simultaneously develop and release on both iOS and Android. which is somewhat unusual for an entrepreneur. Jo Webber: We've done a seed round of $5M, which we raised earlier in 2020. That's proving very useful for our design. READ MORE>>.

Mentor 157

Mentor Southern California Startup Networking 157

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2012

It seems to be an accepted fact these days that big companies normally innovate by buying a startup with innovative products, rather than focusing on in-house innovations. This is a good thing for entrepreneurs and investors, who can win big, but it’s not a given. You have to be able to convince others and sell your ideas.

Case Study 101

Case Study Ideas Framework Entrepreneur 101

socalTECH

JUNE 13, 2019

We were building about 300 to 400 products a year for other people, including tons of apps, for tons of startups, and were managing tens of millions of marketing spend for those clients every month. Ilya Pozin: We launched in April of 2014, and sold in March of 2019, so just five years. It started to feel like the Matrix to me.

Startup 124

Startup Content Demand Netflix 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2018

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs seem to prefer to fail their way to the top, rather than do some research and learn from the successes and mistakes of others. In general I try to focus on the positives and tell entrepreneurs what works, but sometimes it’s important to reiterate the common things that simply don’t work.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Customer 63

Tech.Co

APRIL 5, 2018

As for digital leaders, Qualman said there five common habits that contribute to their success and make up one’s digital S.T.A.M.P. It’s easier said than done, but simplifying everything from personal to-dos to company goals can help generate more productivity and success. Qualman said that each one of us has a digital S.T.A.M.P.,

Startup 80

Startup News Tips Customer 80

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

The number of startups rose in 2015 for the first time in five years, with the largest year-over-year increase in two decades. Over 500,000 new businesses were created last year, or about one per minute of every day. Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation. Just make sure you can fill in all the details.

Startup 61

Startup Social Media News Tool 61

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. Still though, when founders are seeking funding, “ 75 percent of the venture capital goes to three states: Massachusetts, New York, and California,” said Steve Case in an interview with Recode. iFundWomen (New York, NY).

Startup 137

Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 137

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Startup 53

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 53

SoCal Delicious

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Ten Tech Entrepreneurs Who Are Putting LA on the Map. Tech startup accelerators dot the landscape, feeding investments into the waiting arms of the nation’s most intelligent and driven entrepreneurs. The top five tournaments for “StarCraft 2″ in the month of June 2012 had combined prize-pools of over $150,000.

Technical Review 75

Technical Review Entrepreneur Riot Games Southern California 75

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2011

It seems to be an accepted fact these days that big companies normally innovate by buying a startup with innovative products, rather than focusing on in-house innovations. This is a good thing for entrepreneurs and investors, who can win big, but it’s not a given. You have to be able to convince others and sell your ideas.

Startup 94

Startup Case Study Ideas Framework 94